There was a long, depressing period, after his tenure with The Traveling Wilburys, that the world had no new music from George Harrison. Sure, he helped create a couple of very odd Beatles songs (which centered around stray vocal tapes John Lennon recorded before his death), but the sounds of original Harrison were in short supply in the 90s. Fortunately, this wasn't because George had given up on songwriting, but simply that he was becoming a bit more of a perfectionist in his old age. The songs collected for 2002's Brainwashed were being incubated for the better part of a decade, but a combination of his various ailments and his own nit-pickery sidetracked the project, leaving it incomplete when he died in 2001. But thanks to his longtime friend and fellow Traveling Wilbury, Jeff Lynne, Brainwashed was given the proper finishing touches and saw the light of day a year later. And while it would be understandable to think an album that had been stalled and fussed over this much might, using a Guns N Roses analogy, sound a little closer to the Howard Hughes-ian Chinese Democracy than the fresh and nearly flawless Appetite For Destruction. That's simply not the case. Brainwashed is one of Harrison's most spirited collections by far, rivaling the immense, important feel of All Things Must Pass. Actually, it's quite befitting that the most prolific Beatle's solo career is bookended by two spectacular, nearly flawless releases. And it's heart-warming to know he was able to write (and Lynne was able to finish) his most triumphant song, "Rising Sun," before his passing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1E5XPzBSBY
